


Stop Saving Me! (Or Not)

by Salty_King_Vex



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Deviates From Canon, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Genis!centric, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mainly me just being mean to Genis, My First AO3 Post
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2019-10-31 07:00:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17844620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salty_King_Vex/pseuds/Salty_King_Vex
Summary: After losing a battle against Yggdrasill, it's revealed that Genis has a genetic disease that is slowly eating away at his mana. Not to mention Mithos confessed his love!Genis!centric featuring a lot of Genis/MithosKinda ooc but I tried :P It's my first time writing Tales Fics





	1. Chapter 1

They had lost.  
Lloyd looked up at Yggdrasil from the ground where he lay, trying to summon the energy to get back up. He surveyed the room, seeing all his companions either critically wounded or just plain unconscious. Yggdrasil started walking towards Genis’ limp body, only touched just enough from the fighting to be unconscious, not enough to be truly hurt.   
“Don’t...don’t touch him,” Lloyd wheezed as Yggdrasil kneeled down, caressing Genis’ cheek.   
“He’s too good for this world. You don’t deserve him -- no one deserves him.”   
“Get away from Genis!” The young swordsman stumbled to his feet, but only made it a few steps before collapsing again. Yggdrasil rolled his eyes, gathering the other half-elf in his arms and cradling him against his chest.   
“You take your hands off of Genis,” Raine growled in a way no one had heard before. Her protective older sister side was showing, and it wouldn’t end well.   
“Do you think you can really take care of him? Haven’t you noticed Raine?” Her face fell, trying to figure out what he meant.  
“He’s losing mana. It’s slowly draining from him. He shouldn’t have been this easy to knock out -- at full power he could easy defeat me by himself.” The professor’s look transformed from realization to horror,   
“No...no Genis can’t...he...”   
“You can’t save him Raine.” And then he disappears; teleported away, bringing Genis with him. 

\-----

I felt awful while waking up. My limbs were heavy, head foggy, but I was slightly warmer than I had become accustomed to. The room I was in was unfamiliar; spacious but fancy. There were no windows, just one large door on the other side of the room. Someone had laid me in a large bed, covered in blankets and pillows from just about everywhere I’d ever seen and then some.   
“Oh, you’re awake.” My eyes darted back to the door to see someone standing in it.   
“Mithos?”   
“I was worried, you’ve been out for a few days.” He closed the door, coming over to the bed and sitting on the edge of it. “I thought I’d never get my bed back,” he giggled. I blushed, fingering the blanket laying across me.  
“Why am I here? Where’s Raine and everyone else?” Mithos frowned, climbing onto the bed to hug me, resting his head on my shoulder.   
“I know Genis. I know you haven’t been well. I know you’re hurting.”   
“I’m not...I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m fine.”   
“You don’t have to try to lie to me. I can feel the mana seeping out of you.”   
“What? What are you talking about?” I was genuinely confused, looking down at my hands. Mithos put his hands on my shoulders, pulling back to look over me sadly. He didn’t say anything for a long time, laying back on the bed and dragging me with him.   
“It’s a genetic disease among those with elvhen blood. I suppose you could compare it to a hole in a bucket. Let’s say you’re the bucket full of mana. Something in your DNA put a hole in you, and the mana is slowly draining from your body.”   
“I don’t understand,” I murmured, clutching my friend tightly. He just held me, not saying anything else as I process what that meant.  
That meant I was dying.

We laid there for a while, surprisingly comfortable in each other’s presence. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t scared to be near Mithos, even though not that long ago we were fighting. Only days ago, in fact.   
“Mithos?” I whispered, tucking my head under his.  
“Hm?”  
“What happened to Raine?” He sighed, twirling a piece of my hair around his fingers.   
“Lloyd and his merry band of misfits made it back to Meltokyo and are staying at the Chosen of Tethe’alla’s house for now. They’re all safe.”   
“Thank you.”  
“It wasn’t really hard to figure out where they went.”   
“No. You could’ve killed them if you wanted to, but you didn’t. So, thank you.”   
“Oh. Um. You’re welcome?” I shivered a little bit, snuggling closer to his warmer body. “Are you cold?”   
“A little,” I admitted. In all honesty, Mithos was right; I didn’t feel good. I was cold, my hands shaky. I got light headed a lot, couldn’t think right.   
“I'll go see if we have more blankets.”  
“No, it's okay. I don't need them. They don’t really help anyway.” I gasped, suddenly feeling warmer than I had in weeks. For the first time in what felt like forever, the fog in my mind was gone and I could think clearly.   
“What did you do?” I marveled, looking up at him like he was a miracle worker.   
“I just gave you some of my mana. How do you feel?” He smiled for the first time since he came in the room, making my heart flutter.   
“I feel amazing, but you didn’t have to do that.” I felt guilty, passing my fingers over my exsphere anxiously.   
“I’m not going to watch you waste away Genis. It’ll be fine, mana restores naturally.”   
“Apparently not mine.”  
“That’s not true. It still restores like it should, it’s just...leaking faster than it’s replenishing.”   
“You suck at comforting people.”  
“What? I, er, what?” Seeing him get flustered made me laugh, all our troubles seeming to be washed down the drain as long as we were in that room. For the first time in a while, I was comfortable enough to fall asleep without a care in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

“I told you never to enter this room.”  
“Apologies, Lord Yggdrasil. It’s urgent.” I whined softly, being dragged out of the comfort of sleep by voices. Mithos and that creepy woman; Pronyma, I think her name was.  
“I'll be there in a minute. Get out.” I heard the door close, and Mithos sighed. He sat up in bed, running his fingers through my hair.  
“You should check on that,” I slurred, sleep still heavy in my mind.  
“I will in a minute. I’m savouring this.” I felt my face heat up, and hid it in Mithos’ shirt. He laughed, and I looked up when he took my hand, putting something over my wrist.  
“What?” It was one of his bracelets, hanging loosely and glinting in the light.  
“It’s linked to my mana so I don’t have to be with you to replenish yours.”  
“Mithos...why?”  
“You have to ask?” He pressed his face into my hair, pressing my hand to his chest. I could feel his heart pounding, and knew mine was the same way. “I love you Genis. I can’t...I can’t let you die too.” A brief kiss was pressed to my hand before he slipped out of bed, transforming into Yggdrasil before exiting the room. I touched the bracelet softly, feeling a constant, comforting warmth from it. A few minutes after Mithos left, I too left the bed, stretching all the muscles I apparently hadn’t used in days. It felt great to be walking around again. It was easy to find my stuff, and I was halfway through pulling on my boots when alarms started going off. I heard it coming from the hall, but no noise sounded in the room itself. I wondered if that was because it was Mithos’ bedroom or if the alarms only went off in the hallway. I quickly finished lacing my boots, grabbing my kendama and running out of the room. Of course, I had no clue where to go from there, so I wandered until I found some kind of life.  
Yggdrasil was sitting on his throne looking bored, tapping his fingers like he was waiting for something. Another set of doors in the room burst open, Lloyd stumbling through, followed closely by Raine and the rest of the group.  
“You took your time getting here,” Yggdrasil mocked, examining his nails.  
“Where’s Genis?” Lloyd yelled in his usual noisy way. For the briefest moment, Yggdrasil’s mask broke and he smiled fondly down at his lap before replacing his indifferent mask.  
“Around. Maybe dead. Who knows?” I flinched, despite knowing he was lying.  
“Please,” Zelos laughed. “You couldn’t kill Genis even if you wanted to. You practically worship the ground he walks on.” As stoic as Yggdrasil seemed to be, I still saw just the slightest blush across his face. I had to laugh at his well hidden embarrassment, which he apparently heard. I startled him, and he almost cast a spell at me but stopped at the last second when our eyes met.  
“You nearly gave me a heart attack,” he said, eyes softening and completely forgetting who else was there. “I thought you had gone back to sleep.”  
“Sorry. I heard the alarm going off and got curious.” He held out a hand to me, beckoning me to come to him. After a little bit of hesitation, I shyly entered the room and took his hand when I got close enough.  
“Called it~”  
“Shut up Zelos.”  
“You’re leaving then?” He murmured, pressing a dry kiss to my hand.  
“...Yeah.”  
“You know you can always call me; I’ll come save you anytime.”  
“I know.” I walked towards my sister, not looking back for fear that I would break down. I could feel his eyes on me, the shift of his mana from the bracelet to warm and bubbly to something darker, something...sad.  
“Let’s go,” I muttered, walking through the group towards the exit. Tears were pouring down my face but I still couldn’t turn around. Raine put her arm around my shoulders, hugging me tightly to her. Sheena’s warm hand landed on my back, rubbing circles.  
“What? We’re just leaving? We’ve got him right here!”  
“Let it go Lloyd! We got Genis, the reason we came here. We’re leaving, whether you’re coming with us or not!” Sheena yelled. 

Raine wouldn’t let go of me, clinging to me like I might disappear if she let go.  
“Raine,” I grumbled, trying to struggle out of her iron grip.  
“No, I’m never letting you go again.”  
“Raine, come on! I can’t live like this!”  
“You’ll find a way.” We all laughed, Lloyd stirring the stew over the fire. He kept looking over at me, like he was making sure I was really here. Checking on me. Actually, I think everyone was, Lloyd was just the least subtle.  
“Look at it this way Genis, if the Professor is occupied with you, she can’t try to cook,” Zelos remarked, causing another eruption of laughter. As it died down, Sheena came over to sit with me and Raine. She had a look on her face that girls usually get when they’re about to gossip.  
“So, you and Mithos?” She asked, a smirk Zelos usually wore gracing her features.  
“Oh yeah, I’ve been wondering about that,” Zelos called from the other side of camp.  
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I looked down at the bracelet he had given me, blushing a little at the memory.  
“Oh, I’m sure you don’t. It’s not like he forgets about everyone else the moment you walk into a room.”  
“Or how he looks at you like you’re a god.” I looked to Lloyd for help, but he was scowling down at the fire. I knew he had that look on his face because of me, turning away to try and pry Raine’s hands off of me again.  
“He...he doesn’t. There’s nothing going on,” I mumbled.  
“Come onnnnn, give us the juicy details.”  
“He’s using Genis. That’s all there is to it.” I whipped my head back up to stare at Lloyd wide eyed, processing what he said. I knew that wasn’t true, it couldn’t be true, but it still hurt to hear -- especially when it was coming from my best friend.  
“That’s not true!” I yelled, startling everyone in camp. I didn’t usually yell a lot. Raine was so startled she finally released me, and I took that opportunity to jump up out of her lap. “I’m going for a walk.”  
“Oh! I’ll come with you,” Colette volunteered, brushing the dirt off her shirt.  
“No thanks. I’d rather be alone.” As I walked off into the woods, I heard someone say,”Good going Lloyd. You better go after him.”  
“Why? He said he wanted to be alone.”  
“Are you being intentionally dense?” I rolled my eyes and kept walking until I found a small clearing, decorated with flowers and shrubs. I decided to take a break here, picking one of the flowers and twirling it in my hand. 

“What’s wrong, Aphrodite?” I gasped at the unexpected voice, twisting around to see Mithos leaning on a tree.  
“How long have you been there?”  
“Not long.” Sighing, I looked back down at the flower in my hands, throwing it off to the side.  
“I’d rather be by myself right now,” I whispered just loud enough so he could hear me.  
“I don’t think that’s true.” He plopped down in the grass with me, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. “I think you’re upset, maybe a little scared. What’s eating at your heart?”  
“It’s nothing.” A huffed laugh, and his warm hand took one of mine. “Don’t touch me.”  
“If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, I’ll have to tickle you,” he whispered in my ear, his other hand coming up to rest on my side.  
“You. Wouldn’t. Dare,” I challenged, and then squealed when he did dare. I squirmed, trying to get away from the light brush of his fingers on my sides but it only made it worse.  
“No, no, stop it, I give up!” I choked out between fits of laughing.  
“So?” He asked, sitting up. I took a moment to figure out how I was going to word it, feeling like we were being watched. Glancing around, I saw nothing, and decided I was being paranoid.  
“Mithos...you weren’t lying, right?”  
“The only thing I’ve ever lied to you about is being from Ozette.”  
“So...when you said you loved me...you were telling the truth?” I heard a small gasp from the woods, finding that I definitely wasn’t paranoid.  
“Of course I did, why would you ever think otherwise?”  
“It’s dumb, forget I said anything.”  
“It was Lloyd, wasn’t it?” I probably gave it away when I looked anywhere but at Mithos. “Bingo.”  
“It’s not...he didn’t do anything wrong.”  
“And the Chosen of Tethe’alla is a virgin. What did he do?”  
“He...accused you of using me. And I know that’s not true b-but-”  
“Hey, shhh. It’s okay, I promise I’m not using you. I love you.”  
“I-I know.” He brushed the tears from my face, kissing my forehead.  
“He only said that because he’s trying to be a good friend and protect you.”  
“I know.”  
“And it might be just a dash of him hating me.”  
“Lloyd doesn’t hate you. He doesn’t hate anyone, it’s not in him.”  
“How do you feel?” He asked, changing subjects.  
“Real subtle there. I feel fine.”  
“Not cold?”  
“No, I promise I feel completely normal.”  
“Good. I’ve been worried about you, it’s nice to know the bracelet is working.”  
“We haven’t been separated that long.”  
“18 hours is a long time for a man in love.”  
“You’re no man. You’re just a little boy who hates being told no.” He breathed out a laugh, eyes flicking between mine and my lips. His hands cupped my face and he leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes with a blush across his entire face.  
“I shouldn’t do this...you’re only 12.”  
“I’m 13, thank you.” He laughed again, and our lips were just about to touch when,  
“Genis? Are you out here?” My sister called, and we jumped apart.  
“I uh...I guess I should get you back to your friends.”  
“Yeah, Raine has been really clingy.”  
“I’ll come see you next time I have a chance.”  
“You’re going to get us in trouble.” He got off the ground, offering me a hand to pull me up. Leaning over, he plucked a flower from the grass and tucked it in my hair.  
“If I get you in trouble do I get to keep you?” He giggled at the dirty look I gave him, taking my hand and leading me through the woods back towards the camp. We stopped just out of sight, both of us sighing.  
“So...” I started, anxiously running my fingers through my hair.  
“Don’t let Lloyd get to you. He’s going about the wrong way of trying to protect you.”  
“When will I-”  
“Soon. A few days at most.”  
“Ok.” And then he vanished into thin air, leaving me all by myself like I originally wanted to be.  
“So, nothing, huh?” Or not. I practically jumped 3 feet in the air, whipping around to see Sheena and Zelos with the biggest grins on their faces.  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
“Oh yeah ‘Aphrodite’?” Sheena teased, and my face felt like it turned bright red.  
“Shut up.”  
“There you are! We’ve been looking for you for ages!” Raine shouted, grabbing my arm roughly. She essentially dragged me the few feet back to camp, probably leaving a hand-shaped bruise on my arm. “I have been worried sick about you, do you even know how long you’ve been gone?”  
“Raine, you’re going to rip my arm off.”  
“I’m going with you next time, I shouldn’t have to worry about you so much!”  
“Raine.”  
“Or at least take someone with you. You’re too young to be running off on your own.”  
“Raine, you’re hurting me.” She gasped loudly, letting go and dropping to her knees in front of me. I rubbed my arm where she had been gripping too tight, and she batted my hand away, pushing up my sleeve. Turns out I was right; my upper arm was starting to turn black and blue in the likeness of my sisters hand. She didn’t say anything, just hung her head and refused to look at me.  
“What’s with you Raine? You’ve never been like this.” She put her hands on my shoulders, then cupped my face. Looking up at me sadly, she hesitated before speaking.  
“Genis, our mother was...sick. She had an awful disease that sucked the mana out of her until she had nothing left. And...you...” She trailed off.  
“So you know.”  
“You knew?”  
“Mithos told me. That’s what the bracelet is for; it’s linked to his mana.” She took my hand, inspecting the bracelet curiously.  
“So he’s supplying you with mana?”  
“Kinda.”  
“Interesting...how does it feel?”  
“Depends on what kind of mood he’s in. So far it’s warm most of the time.” She hummed inquisitively, turning the bracelet to further examine it.  
“Fascinating. I’d love to research this more. I wonder if there’s a distance limit on it?”  
“I don’t know.”  
“Could it work better when you two are closer?”  
“I don’t know Raine.”  
“I’ll have to look at it again next time we go to fight him.”  
“I’m tired,” I said, cutting off her overly excited chatter. “I’m going to go to bed.”  
“Are you sure? You haven’t even had dinner yet.”  
“I’ll eat in the morning.”  
“You’re going to get a stomach ache.”  
“I’ll be fine.”  
“Well...alright. But I don’t want to hear it if you do get one in the morning.”  
“We both know you’ll ask me anyway.” We both smiled, and she tucked me in before going to talk to Regal. Everyone was mingling in their own little groups from what I could tell. I couldn’t see them all, obviously pretending to be asleep.  
“Do you think he’s really okay?” Presea asked from what sounded like not that far away.  
“Genis is just exhausted. He’s been through a lot -- we all have.”  
“But Genis never raises his voice, especially at Lloyd.”  
“Lloyd started it.” That was definitely Sheena’s voice.  
“What? Why? All I said was the truth!”  
“Not at all! Mithos is clearly head over heels for Genis!”  
“We could use this to our advantage,” Regal mused.  
“We’re not doing that. Even if the guy is our enemy, I think it’s sweet.”  
Zelos was staying surprisingly quiet. He was usually scheming when he was this quiet.  
“It doesn’t matter right now. We’ll deal with it when it becomes a problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I write in mostly dialogue when I first start writing in new fandoms XD


	3. Chapter 3

I’ve always hated Flanoir. It was too cold, and it was hard to navigate around the city, not to mention Raine was even clingier than before. She kept trying to get me to eat more, pushing me to go to bed earlier. It had been over a week since I’d last seen Mithos. I was a little disappointed, but I didn’t say anything about it. Lloyd barely said a word to me, which hurt more than anything. Everyone was acting different around me, but I wasn’t sure if it was because Mithos...or my disease.   
Colette had been trying to get me to go make snow angels with her. Presea wanted me to go for walks. Regal was offering to teach me how to fight, which was shut down by Raine real quick. Sheena was always trying to get me to do logic puzzles with her, and embarrass herself because she couldn’t figure them out at all. Zelos...he just made fun of me less than usual. Well, that’s what he had been doing.   
“Hey, Genis! Come here for a sec!” I looked up from the book I was reading, giving Zelos a glare and putting my bookmark in place.   
“What do you want?”   
“Teach me to use magic,” he said -- more like demanded.  
“What? Why?”  
“Come onnn, it’ll be fun. I’ve always wanted to learn more.” I sighed, setting the book aside and grabbing my kendama. We found a small clearing without too much snow to work in, ensuring no civilians were close enough to get hurt.   
“Ok, so I’ve seen you cast fireball. Have you ever tried flame lance?”   
“I tried, but it didn’t work out so well.”   
“Meaning?”  
“It kinda fell apart.”  
“So you weren’t focused enough. You’re not stupid, you just get distracted easily. You need to find something that keeps you busy.”   
“Like that toy of yours.”  
“It’s a kendama.”  
“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes, gripping said kendama a little tighter.   
“Do you want my help or not?” I grumbled.   
“I do, I do. Ok, so I gotta focus on something. Why can’t I just...focus on the spell?”  
“You could if that’s what works for you.” 

We were outside for probably hours. Undoubtedly someone was distracting Raine to get her off my back, otherwise she would’ve come to find me ages ago. It was actually surprisingly fun to teach Zelos some spells. The best part was showing off what I could do without worrying about accidentally catching someone else in my spell.   
“Jeez, you’ve been holding out on us,” Zelos whistled, impressed by my display.   
“It’s hard to get the complex spells out when you guys won’t stay in a specific spot.” During our little break, the adrenaline started to fade and I got light headed way too fast to be comfortable, if that could be comfortable at all. Black spots danced in my vision and I finally realized how bad my hands were shaking. I barely registered Zelos rambling about how great he was, trying to stay on my feel and failing miserably. I could barely feel the snow because how cold I already was.   
“Genis? Ah man, the Professor is going to kill me.”   
“I'm okay, I just need a minute.”   
“Nah, I'm beat and ready for dinner. Let's head in, it's cold out here.” I managed to stumble to my feet, and had the hardest time getting back to the inn. It felt like I was half asleep except worse. 

I wasn’t any warmer in the inn. I knew what this was, but I didn’t want to admit it. If I did, Raine would never let me use magic again. Surprisingly, my sister wasn’t around. She might’ve found some ruins to go crazy about, that would certainly keep her occupied forever. I had four blankets wrapped around me while I was reading my book, and was still shivering like it was in the negative temperatures in the room. Mithos’ bracelet was warm on my wrist, but only let out a small, steady flow of mana. It was probably calculated based on the “hole” in my mana, not for me being reckless.   
No one really bothered me until dinner. Raine had finally returned, covered in cobwebs and dirt. She was so consumed by talking about the ruins that she didn’t notice anything was wrong. I wasn’t as bad as I had been, but I wasn’t that well off either. I passed off the shivering as it being too cold in Flanoir for me. No one knew about anything else. It was all working out fine until I got up to help Colette with her studying and got light headed again. I think Lloyd caught me, but I wasn’t sure because everyone jumped up at the same time. I was slowly lowered to the floor, and someone was talking but I couldn’t really process who it was.   
“I’m fine, I’m fine. I just stood up too fast, don’t act like I’m on my deathbed,” I grumbled, trying to orient myself. I couldn’t really make out the people around me, but on the other side of the room I saw beautiful green eyes.  
“Mithos?” Everyone stopped what they were doing and also turned towards him.  
“And how did you end up like this?” He came over, getting on his knees in front of me.   
“I...was showing Zelos how to do some magic and might have overdone it.” He sighed, pulling me to his chest and tangling his fingers through my hair. He smelled like a valley at the base of a mountain; like clear water, a field of flowers, and the slightest touch of earth. The bracelet was getting hot, and he was kind of tense. He was angry.   
“What made you think that was a good idea?”  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think-”   
“Not you Aphrodite.”   
“Why did you come here?” That was Regal. Ever the sensible one. The bracelet was quick to change from hot to the usual warm and bubbly.   
“To see Genis of course. You would do the same for Alicia, wouldn’t you?”   
“Be nice to Regal,” I mumbled, still reveling in his almost supernatural warmth. Wait. “What are you doing?”  
“Sitting here. Talking. What are you doing?”   
“You know what I mean smart ass. Stop giving me your mana.”   
“I’ll stop when you aren’t ice cold. I have enough mana to last me until the end of time, there’s nothing wrong with sharing some with the one I love.” I squeaked in embarrassment, fighting between hiding in his shirt and pushing him away, which left me sitting still.   
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered in my ear, making it worse.   
“You...! What are you here for?”   
“Oh, right.” He dug around in his pockets for a second before producing a silver necklace inlaid with a sapphire. “I saw it and thought of your eyes, so I had to get it for you.”   
“O-oh, I can’t...how much did you spend on this?”   
“I don’t think that’s really important.” He fastened it around my neck, fingers brushing my skin softly. It occured to me that no one was trying to attack Mithos in anyway, and looking around I realized why: I was essentially a shield and a hostage, even if he didn’t think of me like that.   
“You should go,” I murmured, and he hummed in agreement. “But I really don’t want you to.”   
“Then I won’t.”   
“They really want to fight you.”  
“Lloyd wants to fight me, and because Lloyd wants to fight me, they want to fight me.”   
“I know...” He giggled, tucking his hair behind both of his ears at once shyly. 

Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind and roughly yanked up off the ground, thrown to the side. Yuan was standing there, holding his weapon to Mithos’ neck.   
“That’s quite the greeting Yuan,” he said calmly, tilting the blade down.   
“Spying again?”  
“No, just visiting. Apparently if I leave Genis alone for too long he gets into trouble.”  
“Hey!” Yuan rolled his eyes, flicking them back to glare at me.   
“You have the same tell as your sister.” Mithos became more serious than I’d ever seen him before. The bracelet got cold. He disappeared, materializing behind Yuan and shoving him to the ground. He straddled him, grabbing him by the back of the neck and digging his nails in.  
“If you put even a finger on him, I will take it upon myself to personally end your miserable existence, do you hear me? Don’t touch him,” he growled. Lloyd went to swing his sword at Mithos, only for Mithos to disappear again. He reappeared in front of me, taking my hands in his.  
“I have a few things to attend to, but I’ll come see you again, okay?” I nodded dumbly, and he smiled before vanishing for the last time. The bracelet was still cold, like Mithos was...scared. A heavy hand landed on my shoulder, and I jumped, looking up to see Kratos.   
“Genis, what’s going on with you and him?” he asked gently, his eyes flicking down to the pendant sitting heavy just above my collar bones.   
“Why does everyone keep asking that? Nothing is going on! I’m not doing anything so stop acting so suspicious!”   
“I wasn’t accusing you of anything, I’m just worried about you. Mithos isn’t the same as he used to be, he’ll do anything and use anyone to get what he wants.”   
“That’s not true, it’s not! He isn’t like that!”   
“Genis, listen to me-”  
“No! You don’t get it! He could’ve killed us, all of us, at any time but he hasn’t! He easily could have gotten us out of his way, but he hasn’t. He only needs Colette for his purposes, the rest of us are...just keeping him from his goals. He’s not...he’s not like that.” No one said anything, but I knew what they were thinking. I knocked Kratos’ hand off my shoulder, walking out of the inn without telling anyone where I was going. I didn’t even know where I was going, I just walked around the city before finding some random bench to sit on. It was cold, but this time I knew it wasn’t my lack of mana, it was the actual weather. A blanket was draped around my shoulders, and Raine sat down on the bench next to me. She didn’t say anything, just took up the role of a comforting presence. We sat for a long time, watching the snow fall. The silence was nice; I didn’t have to listen to anyone talk like they knew better than me, making an argument for something they didn’t know enough about.   
“You’re right,” Raine said after an extended amount of time. I made a noise of confusion, glancing over at her.   
“He could have killed us if he wanted to, but he didn’t. And the way he changes when he’s around you...that boy certainly has a soft spot for you.”  
“No he doesn’t.”  
“Genis, please. I think I’m observant enough to know when someone is pining for my younger brother.”   
“He’s confused...and lonely. He doesn’t like me.” At this point, I was just trying to spare myself the hurt when we eventually had to fight him again.   
“That’s not what Kratos told us.” I snorted, spinning the bracelet around my wrist. “He said that Martel used to do that same thing with her hair when she was around Yuan. He really likes you Genis.”   
“I know, I’m just...we’ll have to fight him again, probably soon.”  
“You won’t be joining us for that fight.”   
“What?”  
“The plan is to leave you with Altessa.”  
“Why?”  
“Genis, can you truthfully tell me you won’t try to stop us from fighting Mithos if we need to.”   
“...no,” I mumbled, hanging my head.”Hey Raine?”  
“Yes Genis?”  
“If Kratos could tell that Mithos...why did he try to tell me he was using me?”  
“Kratos told me that when Mithos realizes you’re a weakness, he’ll try to cut you off completely, maybe even kill you. We’re trying to save you the pain when that happens. I’m guessing you’re trying to do the same thing, but...”  
“I want to hate him, I tried. I just can’t.” She combed through my hair, adjusting the blanket around my shoulders.   
“We should go back, before we freeze.” I nodded, but wasn’t overly thrilled with the idea. I would just get either teased or ridiculed again.   
“Raine...I think I-”  
“I know. You have the right to. As worried as I am about you...I have to admit, it’s cute.” I smiled at my sister, taking her hand as we walked back to the inn.


	4. Chapter 4

No one was around when we got back; they probably were lounging in their respective rooms. Raine herded me straight to our room before whisking off to check on everyone. I laid in bed, mindlessly running my fingers over the pendant around my neck. It was smooth, flawless, untouched by hate and violence. I envied it, as ridiculous as that sounds. It was just an inanimate object, but I was jealous. It wasn’t glared at when it walked through the streets, wasn’t boiling over with rage and loathing for another race. It didn’t have feelings at all, so I was bitter towards the stupid piece of jewelry.  
But I loved it.  
I loved this necklace.   
I loved Mithos.

The thought made my heart ache and flutter at the same time, made me nauseous. I curled up, electing to go to sleep and forget everything that happened today. The door creaked when Raine came back in, a soft scuff resounding through the room when she put something on the desk.  
“You should eat before going to bed. You didn’t have anything at dinner,” she said, and I remember her saying something similar a few days ago.  
“I don’t feel good,” I mumbled, and this time it was true. I didn’t think I could stomach anything at the moment.  
“You aren’t getting sick, are you? Is it your mana?”  
“No, it’s just my stomach. I’ll be fine.”   
“Just your stomach? Nothing else?”  
“I’ll be fine Raine. I’m just going to sleep it off.” She sighed, but didn’t say anything. My bed dipped right behind me, a hand landing on my forehead.   
“You are a little warm. Not surprising; it sounds like you spent quite a bit of time outside without a coat today.”   
“Raine,” I grumbled, pushing her hand away. “I’m trying to sleep here.” She laughed, smoothing my hair and finally leaving me alone. Of course, I couldn’t sleep until long after she extinguished the lantern in our room. My mind was too caught up with...well...everything.

I shrieked when I was startled awake by someone grabbing me, a hand put over my mouth to keep me quiet. Raine shot straight up, reaching for her staff. I tried struggling out of the grip of whoever was keeping me still, sinking my teeth into their hand. They were surprisingly resilient, not even flinching when I bit them. I heard someone else in the room knock my sister to the ground, kicking her staff away. One of my arms was twisted painfully behind my back, and the more I struggled the worse it got. I jabbed my free elbow into my attackers ribs hard, repeating the action twice before I was abruptly released. I scrambled out of reach, pressing my back against the bed and frantically trying to look around in the dark. I heard fighting, but otherwise had no clue what was going on. It got quiet again fast, someone in the pitch-black room trying to catch their breath. There were footsteps going past me, and I froze up, thinking they were looking for me.   
“I told you not to touch him,” was growled.  
“I know you’re angry, but now isn’t the time. He needs you.” A sigh, then someone moved and dropped to their knees in front of me. I yelped, punching and kicking and screaming.   
“Genis, Genis! It’s just me, you’re okay!” I took some deep breaths, trying to figure out who was talking to me. Soft hands held my wrists, keeping me from struggling and hurting someone. The smell of mountain flowers floated around me, and the sound of bracelets clicking together filling the room.  
“Mithos?”   
“Yeah, it’s just me.” I latched onto him, sobbing into his shoulder. He gently rocked me, cooing softly in my ear. “It’s okay, I’m here now. I’ll protect you.”   
“I-I-I,”  
“Shh, it’s okay, you’re okay.” The door burst open, light flooding the room from a lantern someone brought in. Mithos twisted, ready to fight again if he had to. Thankfully, he didn’t...sorta. It was just a fraction of our traveling group, Sheena bearing the lantern and Lloyd ready to swing his swords.   
“What the hell happened in here?” Sheena asked, looking at Yuan and Botta unconscious on the floor.   
“I’m not quite sure myself. I woke up to Genis screaming, probably the same as the rest of you,” Raine said, her voice slightly shaking. “If I had to venture a guess, I’d say they were trying to kidnap Genis.” I shook at the thought, clutching Mithos tighter.  
“But why? We’re on the same side.” Suddenly, all their eyes landed on Mithos at the same time, and they understood. I was going to be bait.   
“It’s okay Aphrodite, he won’t ever touch you again,” Mithos whispered, rubbing circles on my back.   
“Don’t kill him.” He jerked back, looking at me like I had three heads.   
“What?”  
“Don’t kill him. You’re angry now, but he was your friend once. If you kill him, you’ll regret it the rest of your life.” He was quiet, not quite buying my argument. “If you won’t do it for you, do it for me. Don’t kill him.” He didn’t say anything, just looking over me and combing his fingers through my hair. Finally, he sighed, resting his forehead on my shoulder.   
“Okay, I won’t kill him this time.”  
“Thank you.” Zelos coughed loudly, breaking us out of our private little bubble that formed whenever we were together.   
“That was some interesting timing you had there. It’s almost like you knew Yuan was planning something,” he commented, almost accused.  
“That’s an interesting observation Chosen,” Mithos snarked right back. “But if you must know, Genis called me.”   
“I did?” He giggled, bringing up my wrist his bracelet was dangling from.  
“Not directly. I could feel the distress in your mana.” I took a moment to process this, connecting the dots between every time something was bothering me and he magically appeared.   
“You...!” I grabbed the front of his shirt, shaking him back and forth. “I thought you just happened to be around! Now you tell me you’ve been keeping tabs on me?”   
“Not on purpose!”  
“Oh, so now I’m not worth keeping an eye on.”   
“I-I didn’t say that!”  
“But you implied it.”   
“You’re cute when you’re mad.” My brain suddenly stopped working, having to do a complete reboot.   
“I think you broke Genis,” Sheena laughed as I gained my senses.   
“I’m not mad...”   
“Ok, I think that’s enough of that for tonight,” Raine interrupted. “We have a long day planned tomorrow. It’s best that everyone gets back to bed.” Everyone nodded, each going back to their own room and leaving just Raine, Mithos and I in the room. And then Raine left too, dragging Yuan and Botta out of the room.   
“I should let you go to bed,” Mithos mumbled, lightly dropping his hands to my hips.   
“Stay. Please? I...I’m scared he’ll come back.”   
“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time because we're catching up to what I have written so I need to catch up on writing. I wasn't going to update until later this week but we got our first kudos so I decided to update early


	5. Chapter 5

The only way for both of us to fit in the bed was to press right against each other, his chest to my back. We had done this before at Altessa’s before we found out who he is, but that was different. Cuddling changes when one of you has confessed their love. It was a little awkward, but still nice. It was warm, and I had to admit, having him here made me feel better. I was sure he would die before letting anything happen to me. Raine was quiet when she came back in, up until she noticed that Mithos was still here.  
“I thought you would have left,” she said softly, apparently thinking I was asleep.   
“He was afraid of Yuan coming back.”   
“We tied them to the desk in Regal and Zelos’ room. They won’t be going anywhere until the morning.”   
“Genis asked me to stay so I’m staying.” Nothing else was said, and the rest of the night was uneventful. 

I woke up on top of Mithos, the light from the window lighting up his hair like he had a halo. He was still asleep, one hand on my back and the other hanging off the bed. Raine was reading, having pulled a chair over to the window so she could see. I tried shifting, but Mithos tightened his hold on me, keeping me still. My sister glanced over when I huffed in frustration, smiling at my predicament.   
“He really is crazy about you. I have a feeling that boy would do anything you asked him to,” she said, turning a page.   
“Probably not. He’s smarter than that.”   
“He stayed here all night, surrounded by his enemies, because you asked him to.”  
“Yeah but,”  
“Genis. You know I’m right.”  
“Yeah, I know.”   
“I’m willing to bet if you asked him to, he would put the worlds back toge-”  
“I’m not going to ask him to do that.” She closed her book, setting it in her lap, but she wasn’t angry. She had more of a curious look on her face.  
“Why?”   
“He’s seen what it was like when the two worlds were one. He had a reason for splitting them apart, and while it’s not the most ideal situation, it’s what he believes in. You should always fight for what you believe is right.”   
“Eloquently put.” I was so shocked to hear Mithos say something that I smacked him, turning bright red as I processed what just happened.   
“...ow,” he mumbled, rubbing the red mark on his face.   
“Serves you right for scaring me.” I actually felt bad, but at the same time I didn’t. He really did deserve it.   
“You’re perfect,” he breathed out, and my heart actually stopped for a moment. I thought I was going to die right there but I would die happy. I barely even noticed the hand he was waving in my face.   
“Genis? Hello? Anybody in there?”   
“I’m not sure Genis is still here. You may have completely broken him.” I dropped my head so my face was hidden in Mithos’ shirt, groaning in embarrassment. He laughed, which made me laugh, and the whole room just dissolved into a giggle party. Even Raine was laughing.   
“Okay you two, it’s time to get out of bed. Mithos, you shouldn’t stay too much longer,” Raine said, dragging her chair back to where it came from.   
“Yeah, I technically have things I’m supposed to be doing,” he sighed, not looking overly motivated.   
“I just want to get up,” I grumbled. Mithos chuckled, tightening his hold on me and burying his face in my hair.   
“Let me goooo,” I whined, but didn’t put much effort into actually escaping.   
“I don’t understand where you think you need to go.”   
“Now you’re being an ass!” He was still laughing at me, but let me go so I could at least sit up. My sister came over, putting her hand over my forehead and humming.   
“Well, you aren’t as warm as you were last night,” she remarked, moving her hand to my shoulder. “How are you feeling?”   
“I’m fine Raine. You worry too much.”   
“You were sick last night?” Mithos asked, sitting up and leaning back on his hands. A concerned look adorned his face.  
“Not really.” He raised an inquisitive eyebrow, looking up at Raine for further questioning.   
“He claimed to have an upset stomach, but now I’m wondering if he lied to me.”  
“I didn’t lie. I...” Sighing, I hid my face in my hands and mumbled.   
“See now, you only do that when you’re hiding something.”  
“I said I was thinking about you and it made me feel funny.” He was quiet for the slightest moment, then he was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe. Raine sighed but smiled, patting my head and walking away to make sure she had packed everything. I climbed out of bed, trying to smooth down my hair, which was sticking up in odd places.   
“Genis, use a brush. Your hands will only make your hair more greasy,” Raine scolded.  
“Gross.” I grabbed the brush she set aside on her bed and almost immediately getting stuck on a knot. I grunted, trying to get through it with force and only making it worse.   
“Come here you goof,” she laughed, working her sisterly magic to untangle my hair. “You know this wouldn’t happen if you kept your hair shorter.”  
“I like my hair.”   
“Seconded,” Mithos said, picking at his nails. He sounded fine, but the look in his eyes was dead and lonely. He had to be thinking about his sister. I felt guilty as Raine finished brushing out my hair, patting my head when she was done.   
“Alright Mithos, your turn.” He whipped his head around, staring at my sister in shock. “Yes, you. Get over here.”   
“Oh, I don’t, I mean I-”  
“Are you trying to say no to me?”  
“No ma’am, I mean yes ma’am, I uh,” Grabbing his hand, I pulled him over to stand in front of Raine. He was awkward, lacing his fingers together six different ways before finally relaxing.   
“How is it possible for anyone’s hair to have more knots than Genis’? Do you even brush it?”  
“Um...no.” She sighed, shaking her head   
“What am I going to do with you two?” It was funny, watching an over 4000 year old angel get scolded by my sister. She followed the same procedure with Mithos that she did with me, patting his head when she was done.   
“There. Now next time I see you I expect it to be brushed, you hear me?”  
“Yes Raine.”   
“Good.”   
“Alright boys. I’m going to make sure everyone else is awake. Say your goodbyes before Lloyd comes in to make sure you’re okay after last night.” I nodded, sighing and turning to Mithos. I sighed again, and this time he joined me.   
“You could just come with he,” he mumbled, but he already knew my answer.   
“I can’t. Raine-”  
“Is she the only thing keeping you here?”   
“Of course not. There’s my other friends too...”  
“You mean the humans.” I didn’t have a good answer for that, so I just stayed quiet. He slowly approached, wrapping his arms around me. “It’s okay, I get it. But if you ever want me to come get you, I will.”   
“I know.” He pressed a dry kiss to my temple, murmuring an “I love you” in my ear and stepping back.   
“Wait,” I called, reaching out for him just as he disappeared. Groaning in disappointment, I enveloped the necklace hanging heavy around my neck in my hand, biting my lip and trying to figure out how to go about my day. Hands grabbed me from behind and I whipped around to punch whoever it was, only to have my hand stopped.  
“You shouldn’t tuck your thumb in when you punch someone; that’s a good way to break it.”   
“Oh, you’re back.” Mithos smiled, twining our fingers together.   
“What did you need Aphrodite?”   
“Oh, um,” I paused, feeling unsure of myself. “I just...you didn’t give me a chance to say it back.” He looked taken aback, his cheeks slightly pink.   
“I didn’t think you...”  
“Well, I do. I love you too,” I mumbled, looking down at our connected hands. He tilted my head up, our faces inches apart. I could feel the brush of his breath against my face, his free hand coming up to caress my cheek.   
“Are you actually going to do it this time?” I whispered, and he huffed out a laugh. Our lips were just about to touch when...  
Some jerk knocked on the door. We both jumped, and Mithos left a quick peck on my cheek before leaving again. Growling in frustration, I stomped over to the door and yanked it open.   
“Hey,” Lloyd said casually, like he hasn’t been the biggest ass for the past week. “I thought I should come check on you after last night.”   
“I’m okay, but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a while.”   
“Don’t worry so much about it, nothing like that is going to happen again.”   
“You don’t know that,” I shot back, crossing my arms.   
“I mean, the only person I could think of that would try to kidnap you is Mithos.”   
“Funny. The only person I could think of is Yuan.”   
“After he explained his plan I thought it was a good idea. He could’ve gone about it a better way though.”  
“So you think it’s a good idea to use me as bait?”   
“Yeah.” I remembered not to tuck my thumb in this time when I punched him, slamming the door in his face.


	6. Chapter 6

“So, do you want to tell me why you punched Lloyd?” Raine asked when she came back, sitting on the end of the bed where I had been reading.   
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I grumbled, but put my bookmark in because I knew she wouldn’t drop it.   
“Genis.”   
“He’s just being a human, that’s all.”  
“Coming from you, that isn’t exactly a compliment.”   
“What do you want me to say Raine? That he’s been a jerk for the past week? That he wants to use me as bait to get to Mithos? He doesn’t even see me as a person anymore, just as a lowly half-elf.”   
“Genis, he doesn’t think of you like that at all. You’re his best friend, and you know he doesn’t always have the best choice of words.”   
“Mhm.”   
“I think he’s jealous of Mithos.”   
“What?” She chuckled, taking my book from my hands and putting it in my bag.   
“He probably thinks you like Mithos more than him, and he’s jealous because you two aren’t as close as you used to be.”   
“Okay but Lloyd started it, and what I have with Mithos is nothing like what I have with Lloyd.”   
“He didn’t start anything on purpose.”   
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I said, cutting off anything else she had to say. She frowned, but left it alone.   
“Make sure you come join us for breakfast. We’ll be leaving after that.”  
“Okay.” 

I had a hard time not laughing when I saw the bruise on Lloyd’s face. Zelos was making fun of him for it, poking at the bruise and teasing Lloyd for getting a bruise from “a wimpy little kid.”   
“Genis isn’t wimpy, he’s stronger than he looks. I deserved it anyway,” Lloyd said, sounding surprisingly mature.   
“Yeah, I know he isn’t really wimpy. Some of those spells he could cast actually scared me a little bit. I didn’t even know he could cast Absolute.”   
“He’d use bigger spells if you guys didn’t run all over the place. He’s probably nervous about hitting someone,” Sheena called from the other side of the room. Presea nodded in agreement.  
“More complex spells also take more concentration to cast, and battle fields aren’t the best place to try and focus,” Regal mentioned. Apparently everyone needed to talk about me.   
“And they use more mana.” Everyone got quiet after Presea said that, like they knew that was significant. I didn’t say anything when I walked in, sitting near Presea rather than where I usually sat by Lloyd. She was silent, seeming to sense that I wasn’t in the mood to talk. Everyone else went back to talking in their little groups, dropping the subject they had previously chosen to discuss. Raine briefly was grumpy because she thought I wasn’t eating enough even though I ate the same amount of food that I usually did. She’s been so fussy about everything and it was starting to get annoying. This is probably the worst she’s ever been in my life. 

Meltokyo wasn’t bad in that it wasn’t cold, but the way people looked at me and Raine...it disgusted me. They all stared us like we were freaks of nature. They were just a bunch of humans who thought they were better than half-elves. I hated them. They watched people fight for entertainment and threw things away after using them once. Not one person appreciated what they had. Even the people in the slums were bad; not because they didn’t value what they had, but because they hated half-elves just a fiercely as everyone else. I guess it was the same way everywhere, but it had to be the worst in Ozette, Heimdall, and Meltokyo. 

Lloyd hadn’t said anything to my since I punched him. Not that he didn’t want to, he probably did. I was just avoiding him like the plague, not just because he was being ridiculous, but also because I had been having nightmares about being kidnapped for days so I didn’t have the patience to deal with him. I’d lost count of the number of times Raine had to console me in the middle of the night because I was terrified -- sometimes she didn’t even wake up. She’s taken to holding my hand whenever we go anywhere, not only because she’s super clingy but also because I’m so tired I don’t notice when she’s walking away.   
“Genis? Hello?” Colette was waving a hand in my face, trying to get my attention for god knows how long.   
“I’m awake! I was listening.”   
“Are you okay? You’ve been spacing out a lot lately.”   
“I’m fine, just tired.”   
“Maybe we should stay in Meltokyo a little longer.”  
“No, I’m okay.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah. I’d like to be out of here sooner rather than later. What were you saying before?”   
“Oh, um. Well, I think you should talk to Lloyd. It’s just that you two are such good friends and it’s hard to watch you fighting.”  
“Are we really friends?” She flinched, taking a step back. I walked away before she could say anything else, rolling my eyes at how naïve she was. Going up to the room I shared with Raine, I flopped down on my bed and groaned. 

I tried reading. That didn’t go over well -- the words kind of just all jumbled together and made no sense. I also tried playing with my kendama. That also didn’t go over well. I don’t really want to talk about it. I didn’t really want to take a nap, but it ended up happening anyway.   
I woke up just as someone dragged me out of bed, hand coming over my mouth before I could yell for help. I couldn’t move, and Raine was fast asleep. Essentially, I was helpless, and Mithos wasn’t coming to save me this time. I was dragged out into the hall and thrown to the floor, but I still couldn’t move or speak. Of course now I could see who it was, and Yuan looked disappointed.   
“I really thought he would show up. I guess you really are a useless half-elf,” he said.  
“You’re a half-elf too you know!” I exclaimed, finally able to speak.  
“That’s right, but I’m worth something.” He raised his sword, and I thought he was actually going to kill me when a cloak of warmth seemed the be laid over me. I swear I heard Mithos whispering to me, but it was so faint that I might have been hallucinating. It all disappeared, leaving nothing at all but that warm feeling, and I fell back asleep.

It felt like there were arms around me, and there was hair tickling my face. People were talking in hushed voices.  
“Well you weren’t protecting him from his nightmares -- you probably didn’t even notice. And you call yourself his best friend.”   
“Shut up! Why do you keep coming around anyway?”  
“Isn’t it obvious? Someone has to take care of Genis, and you suck at it.”  
“Boys, enough. You’re going to wake him up.” I cracked my eyes open just the slightest bit, trying to figure out who else was here. The first thing I saw was blond hair, and it took me a moment to process that it was Mithos who was holding me. My tired eyes flicked over to the door where Lloyd and Raine stood, then back up to Mithos, who was smiling at me.  
“I think it’s too late for that,” he said in response to Raine scolding him and Lloyd. His fingers combed through my hair, dragging a soft sigh from me. “Good morning Aphrodite. Well...I guess more like good afternoon,” he giggled, his eyes holding a look of loving fondness.  
“Hi,” I mumbled, still half asleep. “When did you get here?”  
“About an hour ago. You’ve been sleeping pretty heavily.”   
“Oh.”   
“It looked like you were having a nightmare when I came in. Are you okay?”   
“Yeah,” I sighed, laying an arm across him. “I am now that you’re here.” Lloyd stormed out of the room, Raine catching the door before it slammed and gently closing it. I shrugged it off, snuggling up to Mithos and settling in to go back to sleep. Raine sat on the bed next to me, putting her hand on my shoulder.   
“Genis, I know you’re tired, but we leave for Mizuho soon. You need to get ready to go.”  
“Five more minutes.”  
“Genis,” she huffed. “Listen, I would honestly be more than happy to let you cuddle with your boyfriend and sleep, but we have important things to do.” Mithos got stiff as a board, his entire face turning red -- I think he even squeaked. I was still half asleep, so I didn’t really process what she said.  
“So let me cuddle with my boyfriend and sleep, I’ll catch up later.” And then everything that had been said caught up with me. I sat straight up, hands over my mouth and face burning. My sister was laughing at me -- at us -- almost falling on the floor. Mithos had his arms tightly around my waist, his face hiding in my shoulder.  
“Oh my goodness, the looks on your faces.”  
“Raine! Look what you did!”  
“You’re the one who repeated what I said Genis. Maybe next time you should listen.”   
“It’s ok,” was whispered into my shoulder. “You can...call me your boyfriend if you want to.” He hesitated with the word “boyfriend,” almost choked around the label. I don’t know if it was because he was embarrassed or because he was lying, but it was still a little unnerving. I didn’t say anything, peeling his arms off me and getting out of bed.   
“What are we going to Mizuho for?” I grumbled, trying to smooth the wrinkles out of my clothes.   
“Just to do a few things.” I rolled my eyes at her vagueness, but I knew it was because Mithos was here.   
“Great. Sounds like a good time, you definitely need me there. There is no possible way that I could just stay here and sleep.”   
“I thought you’d be happy to get out of Meltokyo. You’re always complaining about the people here.”   
“I could take you to Derris Kharlan.” We looked back at Mithos, who was leaning back on his hands leisurely. “You could go back to napping, and you wouldn’t be in Meltokyo.” Raine raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.   
“And how do we know you’ll bring him back?”  
“Wasn’t it you who said I’d do anything Genis asked me to?” He shot back with a smirk. My sister smiled, knowing he was right.   
“Is that what you want to do?” She asked me, putting me on the spot. I did, but how would people treat me after that, knowing I was running off with their enemy? “Stop thinking about what Lloyd would say. What do you want to do Genis?”  
“I...I want to go with Mithos.”   
“I thought you would. That still means you need to get ready to go.” Groaning, I grabbed my book off the side table and shoved it in my bag, doing the same with anything else I had lying around. I tuned out Raine and Mithos’ small talk, puttering around the room and making sure I had everything. It would suck to forget something at Zelos’ house and not find it for months.   
“Shit, where’s my,” I started, feeling my neck to make sure I didn’t forget the pendant was still hanging there, but it wasn’t. “I didn’t think I took it off.”   
“What are you looking for Aphrodite?” Mithos asked, coming up behind me and putting his arms around me.   
“My necklace. I swear I was wearing it when I fell asleep.”  
“You weren’t when I came in.”   
“When did I...?” I dumped my entire bag on the bed, digging through the contents only to find it wasn’t there. It also wasn’t in the side table, on the side table, or under the bed. At this point I was basically hyperventilating, throwing all the blankets off the bed trying to find it.   
“Aphrodite, it’s okay. It’s just a piece of jewelry.”  
“It’s not okay! It’s not okay and I’m not okay and nothing is okay.” Mithos held me to his chest, keeping me from searching.   
“Genis, listen. You’re sleep deprived. The world is not over, it was just a necklace.”  
“No, it wasn’t just a necklace! You gave it to me, it was special!”   
“You’re not listening.”  
“I am listening.”   
“Are you?”  
“Yes.” He sighed, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.   
“You’re tired, it’s been a long week. Why don’t we go sleep for a little bit, and then we can come back and look for it. Okay?”  
“But-”  
“Genis, go get some rest. I’ll look for your necklace,” Raine said, rubbing my shoulders.   
“But...”   
“Mithos, get him out of here.” A bright light flashed, and then I was standing in Mithos’ bedroom. No matter how many times I had warped, it never got easier. It always made me a little queasy. Without saying anything, Mithos led me over to his bed, coaxing me to sit before sweeping out of the room with a promise to return shortly. I tugged off my shoes, settling into bed and pulling blankets over myself. I didn’t notice Mithos come back until he was curled up in bed next to me. I turned and laid my head on his chest, his fingers tangled in my hair. He was humming softly, appearing more than happy to just stay here forever. I could get behind that, staying here and never having to see any fighting ever again.   
“I love you,” he murmured, the bracelet more bubbly than usual.   
“I love you too.” He smiled, continuing his humming while I fell back asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Mithos was lightly dozing when I woke up. His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t breathing deep enough to actually be asleep. He probably knew I was awake, but he made no motion to say or do anything. I rolled to lay on top of him, but he still had no reaction.   
“Mithos,” I whispered, cupping his face in my hands. A smile crept onto his face, but otherwise still nothing. Fine, I could play along.  
“I guess you’re sleeping. That’s a shame. I’ll have to find a way to entertain myself.” For a moment, I had no clue what I was going to do, but I thought of something real quick.   
“You know, I thought you were a brave hero, but you always seem to chicken out at the last second.” He raised an eyebrow, putting one hand on my back. “Sleeping people don’t move.”   
“Sure they do,” he mumbled.  
“They don’t talk either.” He huffed out a laugh, going back to pretending to sleep.   
“Hey Mithos?”  
“Hm?”   
“I love you.” Shyly, I pressed our lips together. Mithos’ eyes flew open in shock, but quickly drifted closed again as he leaned into it. I let my eyes close too, taking everything in. It wasn’t the fireworks or electricity I had heard described before. It was more like a gentle wind, brushing over me but not pushing me. But it wasn’t perfect. It was fumbling and awkward and what you would expect from two young boys who’ve never kissed anyone before.   
“We suck at this,” I grumbled, and Mithos barked out a laugh.   
“I guess we need practice.”   
“Are you going to stop chickening out now?”  
“I don’t know. You might have to convince me to do it again.”   
“Oh yeah?”   
“Yeah, I think I’ll need another performance before I’m hooked.” He laced our fingers, sealing our lips together again.  
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he whispered, and I believed him. I believed every word that he ever said.  
“Mithos, are we...dating?” I asked, and he smiled.   
“I’d like to think so, yes.” I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. It was like an adrenaline rush, but I didn’t have anything to put the energy towards.   
“If you’re done napping, I want to show you something.” I nodded eagerly, jumping up to tug on my shoes.

It was a field of flowers in the middle of nowhere, and had to be the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. The field was in a clearing in the forest, a single apple tree off to the side dropping apples on the ground. Mithos took my hand, leading me through the grass to the tree, sitting at the base of it.   
“My sister and I used to come here all the time.” I didn’t say anything, but I got the point -- this place was special. “You remind me of her sometimes.”   
“Tell me about her.”   
“She was the nicest person to ever exist,” he started. I leaned my head on his shoulder as he talked. Once he started he just kept going, telling me how great she was, how many people she helped. At one point he started crying, mumbling about how much he missed her. He went between crying and laughing and smiling and frowning in no particular cycle as he talked on and on. He told me about how they met Kratos and Yuan, that one time he and Martel played in the rain and got sick, how awful he was at cooking no matter how many times she tried to teach him. In turn, I told him about how Raine has never been able to cook because she tries to experiment too much. I told him about that time I was learning aqua edge and got drenched, how I met Marble, that I hated celery so much and want it removed from the world. And we agreed that humans are the absolute worst.   
“I saw a fortune teller once. It was a really long time ago,” Mithos said out of nowhere.   
“Did the fortune come true?”   
“For a while I thought it wasn’t going to.”  
“But it did?” He smiled, taking my hand.   
“She said in my darkest hour I would find the one I needed the most. I used to think that my darkest hour was right after my sister died, but I think...being betrayed by the two people I always thought would be with me, and having my sister so close but so far...” He was quiet for a minute, trying to process his thoughts. “I’m just glad I have you.” 

We stayed there for hours. Mithos was content to watch me play barefoot in the grass from under the apple tree, a fond smile appearing to be a permanent feature on his face.   
“Hey,” I called over to him. He hummed, cleaning an apple on his shirt.   
“If you’re over 4000 years old, and I’m 13...does that make you a cradle robber?” He dropped the apple, his face white as a sheet. He didn’t seem to have a good answer right away, his face slowly getting redder.   
“Does that really matter?”   
“If you looked your age people would call you a dirty old man,” I teased.   
“If I looked my age I would look like a mummy. I’d be all crusty and dried up and gross.” I scrunched up my nose at the image, and he laughed at my expression.   
“I’d just like to go on record that I’m 4,314.”   
“That’s pretty old.”  
“Kratos and Yuan are older.”  
“Whatever you need to say to make yourself feel better Ares.”   
“You’ve been studying.”   
“Did you think I’d just go along with you calling me something and not knowing what you’re talking about? The goddess of beauty, really? And it took me forever to find a history book old enough to even mention an old religion like that.”   
“It was before people started worshiping the summon spirits.”  
“And then your sister.” He hummed, making no comment.   
“I suppose I should bring you back.” I sighed, wandering over and plopping on the ground next to him. “You’re sister is expecting you back eventually.”  
“Eventually being the key word.”   
“You don’t want to go back?” He sounded hopeful, his fingers stroking through my hair.   
“It’s...hard. I love Raine, and I like going around and learning things about new places. I hate fighting...and I’m losing my patience with humans.”   
“Humans are...difficult.” I nodded, leaning on his shoulder. “They can be manipulated though.”  
“If it’s about your church I don’t want to hear about it. Work doesn’t come home.” He was absolutely dumbfounded for a minute, and then he burst into laughter.   
“Okay, I can do that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. I'm working on a term paper right now. :/ Also was a little stuck but we made it


	8. Chapter 8

We flashed into the room right as Raine was yelling at Lloyd. We were in the inn -- I still don’t understand why Mizuho has an inn if it’s supposed to be hidden from outsiders.  
“I told you that he’s on a date! He is fine!”  
“If he’s with Mithos then he’s not!”   
“Is this a bad time? We can just come back later if we need to,” Mithos interrupted, putting an arm around me.  
“It wasn’t really a date,” I mumbled.   
“Sure it was.” Mithos laughed at the dirty look I gave him.   
“You need to behave yourself or I’m going to freeze you in a glacier.”   
“Never going to hesitate to put me in my place, are you?”   
“Why should I?” A sigh, and then he cupped my face him his hands, forehead against mine affectionately.   
“Don’t ever change,” he whispered, a small smile on his face.   
Raine’s arm came down between us, making us both take a step back.   
“Behave yourselves,” she said, glancing back at Lloyd who was sulking. He had his back to us, Colette trying to calm him down. You could almost seem the steam coming from his ears.   
“I should be going anyway.”   
“Oh.”   
“I can’t really give you the details, it’s work stuff.”  
“I don’t want to hear about work stuff.”   
“I know, that’s why I said I can’t give you details.”   
“When will I see you again?” He hummed thoughtfully, tucking some of my hair behind my ear.   
“Eventually.”   
“What is that supposed to mean?” He didn’t say anything, just snorted and disappeared again. “What a goofball,” I mumbled to myself, shaking my head. Raine smoothed down my hair, laying her hand on my shoulder.   
“Are you feeling better now?” I nodded, feeling so much better after actually getting restful sleep. “Good. You were a zombie for a while there.”   
“I just needed some actual sleep. Did you find it?” She looked confused, then frowned when she realized what I was talking about.   
“No. I don’t know what you did with it.”  
“I swear I was wearing it.”   
“Maybe it fell off while you were sleeping.”  
“And where would it go? I looked over the entire room.”   
“I did as well.” I let out a long sigh, spinning the bracelet around my wrist.   
“It’ll turn up eventually.”   
‘I hope so.” 

We only spent one more day in Mizuho. No one really told me what we were there for -- they probably thought I’d tell Mithos. Lloyd made a point to avoid me, and always had a guilty look on his face. Colette kept harassing me about talking to him, but he was the one who wasn’t talking to me so what could I do?   
“So, how was your date?” Sheena asked as we made our way back to the Seal of Fire in Triet.  
“It wasn’t a date,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes. “I was just sleeping.”   
“Raine says it was a date.”  
“Raine is wrong. It was not a date.” I heard my sister scoff, but chose to ignore her.   
“Okay, so say is wasn’t a date-”  
“It wasn’t.”  
“Are you at least dating?” I felt my face heat up, hesitating to say anything.  
“...Yes,” I finally mumbled, and Sheena squealed.   
“That’s so cute. Did he ask you or did you ask him? Who am I kidding, he probably asked-”  
“It was me.”   
“No. Way.” Zelos threw an arm around my shoulder, ruffling my hair.  
“Let me know if you ever want any tips,” he said, and I shoved him off.   
“What do you even see in him?” Lloyd asked, stopping to turn and finally look at me for the first time in days. “He’s been a liar and murderer since the beginning. It’s his fault Marble is dead. He killed and enslaved all the people in the human ranches, and the mana situation with the world is his fault too. What good has he ever done?”   
“So it’s not okay when a half-elf does it...but it’s perfectly fine when humans do it?” Lloyd looked taken aback, and Raine was holding her breath.   
“I don’t, what, I mean-”  
“In Tethe’alla, all those half elves that are put to death without a fair trial, or forced to stay in a lab, is that not the same?”   
“Well, yeah, I guess it is.”  
“So why do we walk around freeing people from human ranches, but when in Tethe’alla you just overlook it like it’s nothing?” Lloyd didn’t have an answer, so I just walked past him, continuing on to the seal of fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's kinda short. I've been busy writing term papers and research papers and lab reports. And I'm running out of ideas.


End file.
